Study: Antidepressants Reduce Heart Risk

A Stanford University study says the use of antidepressants by heart attack patients may reduce the risk of recurrent events and cardiac death.

The school’s medical center said Tuesday the large, multi-center study was conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The announcement said the findings suggest that post-heart attack patients who suffer from depression should talk with physicians about taking the medication.

Our study provides much stronger evidence than we’ve ever had before that antidepressants are safe and may benefit these patients, said C. Barr Taylor, lead author of the published in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

Cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, is often linked with depression, the study said. Studies have shown 20 percent of patients with coronary heart disease suffer from major depression and 20 percent from minor depression. Studies also have shown depression among post-heart attack patients is linked with death and recurrent heart attacks.